Manufacture of shoes



July 21, 1931. G. GODDU MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Original Filed July 29.1927 Wvavma Patented July 21, 1931 UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE GEORGE GOD-DU, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BYMESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE LITTLEWAY PROCESS COMPANY, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS MANUFACTURE OF SHOES Original applicationfiled July 29, 1927, Serial No. 209,299. Divided and this applicationfiled January 21,

1930. Serial This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, andmore particularly to the fastening of uppers to soles or insoles, thisapplication being a division of a copending application, Serial No.209,299, filed on July 29, 1927. The invention is herein illustrated byreference to the manufacture of shoes of that type in which the marginof the upper is fastened in substantially parallel relation to the shoebottom on the outer or bottom face of an insole preparatory to thefastening of an outsole directly to the margin of the upper, forexample, by through-and-through stitches penetrating both the outsoleand the insole. It is to be understood, however, that the invention isnot limited to the manufacture' of shoes of thatparticular kind.

In Letters Patent No. 1,742,502, granted upon an earlier application onJanuary 7, 1930, I disclosed and claimed a novel method of fasteninguppers to insoles by the use of fastenings, shown as staples, anchoredwithin the body of the insole instead of by clinching them on anysurface of the Work. More particularly, in accordance with thatdisclosure, the legs of each staple were deflected in planes transverseto the cross-bar in the driving operation, by engaging them at the sameside of the work from which the staple was driven, to cause them tofollow curved paths in the insole. The present invention provides amethod of fastening uppers by fastenings anchored by curvature in thesame general manner as disclosed in the above-mentioned Letters Patent,and so applied in relation to the shoe as to afford particularlyeffective insurance that the upper will be held securely in place. Moreparticularly, as herein illustrated, the margin of the upper is fastenedby driving staples through it and into the insole with their cross-barsextending lengthwise of the edge of the insole and by so defleeting thestaple legs as to cause them to follow curved paths leading inwardlyaway from the edge of the insole to anchor them. With each staple drivenand anchored in this relation to the shoe, any pull of the margin of theupper thereon, in a direction outwardly toward the edge of the insole,only tends to turn the staple about the axis of curvature of its legs inthe same direction in which the legs were deflected in the insole, sothat special insurance is afforded that the upper will be held securelyin place. Preferably, as illustrated, each fastening or staple is drivenby force applied in a direction inclined outwardly toward the edge ofthe insole while being deflected or curved as above described.

In addition to its novel method aspects, the invention further presentsnovelty in a shoe having its upper secured to a sole or insole byfastenings applied as hereinabove described. In addition to the securityafforded in the hold of such fastenings upon the upper. a furtheradvantage, in shoes of the throughand-through sewed type, is that thefastenings may be located nearer the edge of the insole, withoutinterfering with the outsole stitches, than if they were deflected orcurved outwardly toward the edge of the insole to anchor them.

The invention will now be more particularly described by reference tothe accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims. Thedrawings illustrate the practice of the method by the aid of operatinginstrumentalities which are part of the organization of a side-lastingmachine shown and described in the copending application of which thisapplication is a division, but it will be understood that the inventionis not dependent upon the use of instrumentalities of that particularcharacter nor limited to the fastening of an upper in the lastingoperation.

In the drawings,

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 are views illustrating the practice of the method byreference to different successive positions of the above-mentionedinstrumentalities;

Fig. t is a view at a different angle, showing the instrumentalities aspositioned in Fig. 3 and illustrating more fully the relation betweenthem;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a partially completed shoethe upper of which has been fastened along the sides by the novelmethod; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion f the shoe after thefastening of the outsole to the upper and insole by through-andthroughstitches.

In accordance with the procedure illustrated, a last having an insole aand an up per Z) thereon is presented with the upper at or near the edgeof the insol in engagement with an edge rest 10 and with the outer orbottom face of the insole in engagement with a sole rest 12, and theupper is -t1en pulled heightwise of the last and imvardly over theinsole by a gripper 14:, as indicated in Fig. 1, after which the marginof the upper is laid inwardly over the insole and pressed upon the outeror bottom face of the latter,as illustrated in Fig. 2, by the action ofa stapleguiding nozzle 16 and a staple deflector 18 which for thispurpose are moved as a unit in a direction inclined downwardly towardthe outer face of the insole and inwardly away from the edge-of theinsole. While the upper is thus held with its margin in substantiallyparallel relation to the-outer face of the insole, after its-release bythe gripper, it is fastened in accordance with the method ofthisinvention. For this purpose a staple having initially straight legs isdriven from the nozzle 16 by a driver 20 which is moved in a directioninclined downwardly and outwardlytoward the edge of the insole, oroutwardly toward that side of the shoe which is nearest to thefastening'point. The staple is thus driven with its cross-bar extendinglengthwise 0f the-edge of the insole, as illustrated in substantiallyparallel relation to the edge, and as it is driven its legs are engagedand deflected by the deflector 18, the lower end of which occupies aposition opposite the end of the staple-guiding passage in the nozzle 16for engaging the staple legs at the same side of the work from which thestaple is driven, i. e., without the presence of any portion of the workbetween'the nozzle and the deflector. The deflector 18 is provided withgrooves, one of which is shown in dotted lines at 22 (Fig. 1), forguiding and deflecting the staple legs in planes transverse to thecrossbar, and different portions of the legs are thus deflected orcurved successively in the driving operation before the differentrespective portions enter the shoe. It will be observed that, while thestaple is driven by force applied in direction inclined outwardly towardthe edge of the insole as hereinbefore described, the staple legs aredeflected in such paths that they enter the shoe in directionsapproximately perpendicular to the outer face of the insole and thenfol-low curved paths leading inwardly away from the edge of the insole,the degree of curvature of the legs being preferably such that theirends return toward the outer face of the insole without penetrating itsinner face. It willthus be seen that the legs of the staple are curvedsubstantially"throughout their lengths, and that afterthe'staple hasbeen driventhe ends of the legs are located farther inwardly from theedge of the insole than the cross-bar.

It will be understood that the operations described will be performedsuccessively in different locations along the sides of the shoe. lViththe staples driven and anchored in the manner and in the relation to theshoe herein disclosed, especially effective insurance is afforded thatthey will maintain a firm hold upon the upper, since any pull or strainof the margin of the upper thereon in a direction outwardly toward theedge of the insole only tends to turn each staple about the axis ofcurvature of its'legs in the same direction in which the legs weredeflected or curved in the driving operation.

As hereinbefore suggested, the method of the present invention is notdependent for its utility upon the pulling of the upper as anaccompaniment to the upper-fastening operation, but is applicable to thedriving and anchoring of upper-securing fastenings inde pendently of anyother operation, as sometimes required in shoe manufacture and as alsoprovided for in the machine organization disclosed in the copendingapplicationof which this application is a division.

Figsfi illustrates, in a'shoe of the throughand-through sewed type, therelation of the staples s, driven and anchored as hereinbeforedescribed, to the seam '6 whereby the outsole c is secured .to the upperand insole. It will be evidentthat 'whenthe staples are driven andanchored as illustrated, in addition to other advant-agesabove mentionedthey may be so applied that-theircross-bars engage the upper inlocations nearerthe edge of the insole, without danger that their legswill interfere with theoutsole stitches, thanif the legs were deflectedoutwardly toward the edge of the insole to anchor them.

lVhile the invention is ill-ustratedand described with particularreference tothe manufactureof shoes having an outsoleeand an insole inthe relation disclosed, the invention in various aspects, ashereinbefore stated, is not limited in-=utility to the manufacture ofshoes ofthat particular type, and the term sole is accordingly used inmany of the claims in a comprehensive sense to include both the insoleof some types of shoes and also that part which in shoes of other typesmay be the outsole or the only sole with which the vslroeis provided. Itis to be further understoodthat in the claims the expression edge of'the:sole is used for convenience to designate that portion of the edgewhichisnearest to the location'where the fastening is inserted, and thatthe expression bottom face of the sole is used with reference to thatface which is outermost at the time of'the upper-"fastening ope-ration,regardless-of its position the completed shoe.

The method of tastingherein disclosed is claimed in another divisionalapplication Se rial No. 422,454 filed on Jan. 21, 1930 and the lastingmeans in still another divisional application Serial No. 422,453 filedon J an. 21, 1930.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole whichconsists in driv ing a metallic fastening through the upper and into thesole by force applied in a dection inclined outwardly toward the edge ofthe sole and by engaging the fastening in the driving operation at thesame side of the work from which it is driven deflecting itprogressively in a curved path leading inwardly away from the edge ofthe sole to anchor it.

2. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole on a faceof the sole parallel to the shoe bottom which consists in driving afastening by force applied over said face in a direction outward towardthe edge of the sole, and by engaging the fastening in the drivingoperation at the same side of the work from which it is drivendeflecting it into the upper and the sole in a path such that itsentering end is displaced farther inwardly from the edge of the solethan its upper-engaging portion.

3. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a 'sole whichconsists in driving a fastening through the upper and into the sole at adistance from the edge of the sole, and, in the driving operation,curving substantially all portions of the fastening that enter the shoein such relation to the edge of the sole that the portions of thefastening in the sole follow a course leading inwardly away from saidedge.

4. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole on a faceof the sole parallel to the shoe bottom which consists in applying tothe upper and the sole a fastening extending through the upper and saidface and curved substantially throughout its length in the shoematerials in such relation to the edge of the sole that its entering endis displaced farther inwardly from said edge than its upper-engagin gportion.

5. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole whichconsists in driving a staple through the upper and into the sole withits cross-bar extending lengthwise of the edge of the sole, and, in thedriving operation, deflecting the legs of the staple substantiallythroughout their lengths in curved paths leading inwardly away from theedge of the sole to anchor them.

6. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper over the bottomface of a sole to hold it against outward strain toward the edge of thesole which consists in applying to the upper and the sole a staple withits cross-bar extending in substantially parallel relation to the edgeof the sole and its legs curved substantially throughout their lengthsin paths leading inwardly away from said edge to anchor them in the bodyof the sole.

7. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole whichconsists in driving a staple through the upper and into the sole byforce applied in a direction inclined outwardly toward the edge of thesole with the cross-bar of the staple extending lengthwise of said edge,and by engaging different portions of the legs of the staplesuccessively in the driving operation before the different respectiveportions enter the sole, deflecting them in curved paths leadinginwardly away from the edge of the sole to anchor them. r

8; That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole on a faceof the sole parallel to the shoe bottom which consists in driving astaple through the upper and said face with the cross-bar of the stapleextending lengthwise of the edge of the. sole, and by engaging thelegsof the staple in the driving operation atthe same side of the workfrom which the staple is driven deflecting them progressively in curvedpaths leading inwardly away from the edge of the sole and re-verselytoward said face to anchor them.

9. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper to a sole ona faceof the sole parallel to the shoe bottom which consists in applying tothe upper and the sole a. staple with its cross-bar extending lengthwise of the edge of the sole in engagement with the upper and its legscurved substan tially throughout their lengths in the shoe materials insuch relation to the edge of the sole that the ends of said legs aredisplaced farther inwardly from said edge than the cross-bar.

10. That improvement in methods of fastening an upper over the bottomface of asole which consists in driving a staple through the upper andinto the sole, and by engaging the legs of the staple in the drivingoperation at the same side of the work from which the staple is drivendeflecting the staple legs in curved paths such that the ends of thelegs follow in the sole a course leading inwardly away from the edge ofthe sole.

1].. That improvement in methods of fastoning an upper over the bottomface of a sole which consists in driving a staple by force applied oversaid face in direction outward toward the edge of the sole with thecross-bar of the staple extending lengthwise of said edge, and byengaging the legs of the staple in the driving operation at the sameside of the work from which the staple is driven deflecting them intothe upper and the sole in curved paths such that the ends of the legsfollow in the sole a source leading inwardly away from the edge of thesole.

.12. A shoe having its upper fastened over the outer face of a sole byfastenings extending through the upper and said face andcurvedsubstantially throughout their lengths in the-shoe materialsinsuch paths that their endsare displaced farther inwardly from the edgeof the sole than their upper-engaging portions.

13. A shoe having its upper fastened to a sole 011 a face of the soleparallel to theshoe bottom by fastenings extending through the upper andsaid face and curved from the points where they enter the sole in-suchrela tion to the edge of the sole that their ends :are displaced fartherinwardly from said edge than their upper-engaging portions.

14;. A shoe having its upper fastened to a sole on a face of the soleparallel to the shoe bottom by fastenings extending through the upperand said face, but only part way through thesole, and curved within thebody of (the sole in such directions that'thei-r ends are displacedfarther inwardly from the edge of the sole than-their upper-engagingpor- 1 tions.

15. Ashoe having its upper fastenedto a sole by staples arranged withtheir crossbarsextending lengthwise of the edge of the sole and withtheir legs curved substantially throughout their lengths in pathsleading inwardly away from the edge of the sole to anchor them in thesole.

16. A shoe having its upper fastened to the outer face of a sole bystaples arranged with their cross-bars-extending lengthwise of the edgeof the sole in engagement with the up- .per and with their legs anchoredwithin the body-of the sole by curvature thereof in paths leadinginwardly away from the edge and reversely toward the outer face of thesole.

17. A shoe having its upper fastened to a sole on a face of the soleparallel to the shoe bottom by staples arranged with their crossbarsextending lengthwise of the edge of the sole in engagement with theupper and with their legs extending through the upper and said face andcurved from the points where they enter the sole in such relationto theedge of the sole that the ends of the legs are displaced fartherinwardly from said edge than the cross-bars.

18. A shoe having its upper fastened to the outer face of an insole bystaples arranged with their cross-bars extending lengthwise of the edgeof the insole and their legs curved substantially throughout theirlengths in the shoe materials in paths leading inwardly away from theedge of the insole, the staples being so positioned as to permit anoutsole to be secured to the upper and insole by through-and-throughstitches located .be tween thestaples and-the edge of th-einsole.

In testimony whereof I have signed my :name :to this specification.

GEORGE GGDDU.

